Tillman rams



(No Model.)

T." RAMS.

CARRIAGE TOP PROP.

No. 344,135. Patented June 22, 1886.

INVElQTOR %%W/ 3% WITNESSE$1 ATTO N PETERS, Phola-Limugmphar, Wmhlnghn,DHC.

UNITED "STATES P m:

TILLMAN RAMs, on KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OFYONE-YHALF o EPHRAIMH. rnnrron, or SAME PLACE;

CARRIAGE-TOP PROP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 344,135, dated June 22,1886.

I Application filed October 2, 1885. Serial No. 178,826. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TILLMAN RAMS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Protectors for theBack Bows in Folding Tops to Vehicles; and'I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full,

clear, and exact description of the inven- [0 tion, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompany: ing drawings,forming a partof this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide for the back prop bolt of aVehicle a springlever to receive the back bow of the top when said topis lowered, and thus afford a yielding resistance in the fall of andprevent injury to the said back bow by its too sudden fall;

and it consists in the novel devices hereinafter fully described,andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

Figure l is a side view of the folding frame for the top of a vehicle.Fig. 2 represents my improved bow-protector upon an enlarged scale.

In the construction of my device I make a sleeve, F, of the proper sizeto receive a coil- 0 spring, e, and permit the entrance of a suitableprop bolt within the sleeve and the coilspring therein, whereby it maybe secured to the side of the carriage A. The sleeve F is provided witha longitudinal transverse slot, 6 and in longitudinal continuation ofone end portion of sleeve F, near slot 6 is made the lug e. Thebow-protector E is formed from a single piece of stout wire, which isfirst bent at right angles to form an arm in a central relation to saidpiece, and the roller 6, which may be made from rubber, is perforatedlongitudinally to receive the arm portion of wire. The roller 6 is madethe comparative length of the sleeve F, and the wire of thebow-protector is again bent at right angles upon an opposite end of theroller, thus making the protector nearly rectangular in form. Theopposite ends of the wire are now coiled between the opposite sides andin a transverse relation thereto, the ends being turned outwardly, so asto pass through the slot 6". The ends of the wire having the oppositecoiled springs are then spread apart, and the coil-springs on oppositeends of the Wire protector are inserted in the sleeve F from relativeopposite ends, the bent ends of the spring, e 6 passing through the slot6 and supporting the said ends 6 e in suitable tensions. The oppositeends of the sleeve F are made with the rabbeted portions e", which areupon a relative side of the sleeve opposite to the slot 6 and permit theprotector E to extend the coil-springs farther within the sleeve, andafford room for the play of the protector. The sleeve F is then fittedover the usual prop-bolt upon the side of a vehicle, which is in linewith the back bow, and the lug 6 carried beneath the rail G, whichextends around the carriage. Should there be no rail around the vehicleto receive the lug O eta perforation may be made through the side of thevehicle and the lug e inserted therein. The nut-boltis then screwed onthe end of the prop'bolt as commonly done. When the sleeve F is properlyadjusted to the prop-bolt and shifting-rail,the tension of thecoil-spring e is sufficient to permit the back bow to be lowered uponthe roller 6, and the resistance to said back bow and the weight of thereclining top being a yielding one, the injury from 8 bending, whichoften results from a sudden fall of the top upon the prop-bolt, isobviated. The spring and lever are made in one piece,so thatas the leveris carried down by the weight of the top the spring is contracted and.the tension more evenly distributed through the lever and spring.

Having fully described my invention, what I now claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a suitable propbolt upon a vehicle, adapted tosupport the back bow, and a sleeve provided with a lug upon one end, andsuitable means upon the vehicle for preventing the rotation of said 5sleeve, of a coiled spring in said sleeve, and aleverextendingvfromsalid spi'ingintegraltheretached to and extendingfrom said coiled wi h, anmrm onsaidilever,andamantiafnichion?spr'iflgranammonsziid iieveryend 'a 'roller on :0 device on said arm, asdescribed. said arm, as shown and described.

2. The combination, with a suitable propboil; upon a vehicle, adapted tosupport the I TILLMAN back bOW BSdGSOIPibGd, randhtheshiftiqgmaii;Wfiisnesees: v ofa sleeveprovidedwitzh"altigiupon one'efid; I FRED.TLPERKiNS, a coiled spring in said sleeve, and a lvenafi- A; GAYJZORD.

